FILA announces May as World Wrestling Month

VEVEY, SWITZERLAND -- FILA, the international federation for the sport of wrestling, has announced that World Wrestling Month will be held this May. The 177 countries that are members of the organization will feature activities which promote the sport of wrestling and its campaign to remain in the Olympic Games.

In February, the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board voted to exclude wrestling from the 25 core sports on the program of the Olympic Games.

"World Wrestling Month will feature a variety of activities for our athletes and national federations," said FILA's Acting President Nenad Lalovic. He added, "The month will celebrate our storied past as well as our strong future. Many of the countries around the world will be announcing their celebrations and plans in the coming weeks. "

"The Wrestling Federation of Russia and the European Committee of Associated Wrestling Styles totally support this effort by FILA to put a spotlight on the sport of Wrestling for the month of May," said Georgy Bryusov, First Vice-President of the Wrestling Federation of Russia. "We have an excellent chance to show our pride and passion for our sport and why we believe it belongs on the program of the Olympic Games. "

"USA Wrestling looks forward to helping promote World Wrestling Month as part of our continued support for the Keep Olympic Wrestling effort," said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director.

He added, "We have some very exciting plans for international competition in the United States in May to help celebrate this special month. USA Wrestling will also recognize World Wrestling Month at a variety of other wrestling events and activities at all levels during the month of May. Wrestling is truly a universal sport, and we take pride in doing our part to publicize the sport within our country."

Events during the month will include international dual meets in cities around the world, sport demonstrations and youth events. Some of the competitions will involve proposed rule changes to the sport. Each National Federation will announce its own schedule of events in the coming weeks.